Musakhan Rolls are quite easily one of my favourite Palestinian dishes to make. They're made with shredded chicken, caramelized onions, sumac and some traditional spices. Serve them with a salad (check out this Fattoush recipe) or soup and it's the perfect summer meal! The magic behind this dish is the sweetness of the slowly caramelized onions, coupled with the tanginess of the sumac. It's a match made in heaven.
These Musakhan rolls are a spin on the authentic Palestinian version, which is typically made as a layered dish and using traditional taboon bread. But since I normally have Pita bread in my home, I often make it using that and it turns out great. Tortillas would also work really well. The best part about this dish is the ability to use what you have on hand. You can use leftover rotisserie chicken or boil your own chicken. I often boil the chicken then use the broth to make a soup on the side. Yum! Another tip is that you can make the filling a day or two in advance, so you only have to assemble the pita rolls and bake for a few minutes before serving.
How to adjust Musakhan Rolls
- Use whatever bread you have on hand for this recipe, such as pita bread, toritllas, naan bread or Greek pita.
- If the bread of your choice is too thick to roll, you can simply late it flat and add the chicken mixture on top like a flatbread
- For an even faster preparation, you can use leftover rotisserie chicken
- Adjust the amount of sumac, salt and pepper to your liking
- You can make the mixture ahead of time and refrigerate for a few days. Heat and roll when ready to serve
For side dish recipe ideas, check out:
Musakhan Rolls
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 full chicken legs skin on and bone in
- 2 yellow onions
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 cardamom pods
- 6-7 whole allspice berries
For the rolls
- 4 large Markouk bread substitute with pita or tortillas
- 6 red onions
- 1 cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons sumac plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
For making the chicken
- Start by making a chicken broth by placing the chickens, onions and spices in a pot and covering with water
- Bring to a boil while skimming off the residue as needed and topping up the water
- Simmer for a minimum of 45 minutes or up to 2-3 hours
- Separate the chicken from the broth, shred and set aside. Leftover chicken can also be used for this recipe! In that case, skip to the instructions for making the rolls
For making the rolls
- Slice the onions, they do not have to be too thin and a food processor with a slicing attachment can be used here
- In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil, the onions and 1 tsp of the salt
- Cook them over medium/low heat for around 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes until they are softened and lightly golden
- Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a skillet over low heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil while stirring until they are lightly toasted, set aside
- Once the onions are softened and lightly golden, add the shredded chicken along with the spices and the other teaspoon of salt
- Continue stirring and cook for a further 5-7 minutes, remove from heat and mix in the almonds
- Cut the markouk bread into long strips and place about a tablespoon of filling before rolling it up, you can secure the edges but it's not necessary
- Place completed rolls in an oiled casserole dish
- Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, then broil for 5 mins until golden and crispy. Serve with yogurt
Notes
- You can also use left over rotisserie chicken for this recipe
Comments
Loved these! I added snobur (pine nuts) for a little crunch. Excellent!
Oh what a great idea! Thanks for the feedback Linda
I made these and my guests were in love! They finished them all. Thank you for the recipe
So glad you and the guests enjoyed them! 🙂
what oven temp do you use?
375F will do the trick!
thank you for your reply. i did 400 F i think and next day aat 420 for maybe 8-10 mins. it worked either way. i had made up a sort of shredded musakhan chicken using a shredded rotiserrie chicken and simmering with onions ans pice not knowing what i was doing and then saw this variation and wanted to try it. i cannot wait to make the chicken correctly- it will be even better.
The first time I made this, my husband was soooo impressed! He asked me to make it again the next day! It is one of my favourite on this blog!
I’m making this for lunch today and I’m so excited! Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!
So yummy!
Thank you!!